For many people the annual Carol Service from King's College, Cambridge has
an abiding association with Christmas. Long before I was a believer I can
remember that Christmas Eve service being part of our celebrations. I
particularly recall the lesson from John chapter 1 being introduced by a
gravelly voice (presumably that of the Provost of King's) announcing "St.
John unfolds the mystery of the Incarnation".

Sadly for so many today the Incarnation remains a mystery. Its significance
and glory remains hidden. It is customary for Christians to blame the
commercialisation of Christmas for this. "Put the Christ back into
Christmas!" must have been the thought that launched a thousand clergy
magazine editorials.

Yet perhaps it is those very clergy who have done so much to obscure the
significance of the Incarnation. The word ‘mystery' is often used nowadays as
a smokescreen to avoid dogmatic definition. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ is
said to be such an exalted mystery that we cannot affirm with any confidence
either the truth of the gospel birth narratives or the orthodox teaching on the
person of Christ which is found in our creeds. The mystery of the Incarnation
becomes a means by which the confidence and certainty of the Christmas message
is undermined. The trumpet of the gospel becomes a feeble squeak and is lost
amongst the festive jingles.

It is high time that all of us as Christians noted that our Christmas texts
are all about the unfolding of the mystery of the Incarnation. It is striking
that the word ‘mystery' in the New Testament is nearly always associated with
the notion of understanding, revealing and telling. The mystery is no longer a
secret. The mystery has been unveiled and is now a message to be broadcast to
the world.

There is no mystery now as to what happened at Christmas. Matthew and Luke
give us reliable accounts of the events surrounding Jesus' nativity. They
highlight the signs and circumstances accompanying Jesus' birth. To them it is
crystal clear that the child born in a manger is a King and a Saviour, that he
is the long awaited Messiah. All is summed up by John 1:14 "The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling with us."

There is no mystery either as to why Christmas happened. The apostle Paul
states it with crystal clarity Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full
acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners "(1Tim. 1:15).
The birth narratives in the gospels provide a vital foundation to assure us that
the message of salvation through the death of Jesus Christ is a reliable one.
Christmas shows us how our Saviour was fully equipped to rescue all who stand
guilty before God.

The only real mystery about the Incarnation is why God bothered with it. The
only part of Christmas which is impossible to grasp is the reason why Almighty
God should have loved us in this way. So the proper manner in which we should
celebrate the unwrapped Christmas mystery is surely this: Let us proclaim with
confidence the mystery of our faith. Let us bow before the unfathomable mercy
shown in the one who exchanged "sapphire paved courts for stable
floor".

Mark Burkill is Vicar of Christ Church, Leyton, in the diocese of
Chelmsford.